and it suggests the bombshell report may have led to pope benedict's decision to quit. senior international correspondent ben wedeman joins me from rome. ben, the vatican is suggesting that this is an attempt to influence cardinals who will choose the next pope. first, where did this story come from? >> reporter: this is from a newspaper that is claiming that on december 17 a commission of three cardinals who had been charged by the pope with investigating wrong did doing within the vatican submitted to the pope a 300-page red bound report on what, as you said, appears to be a network of gay priests being -- very windy here today -- being blackmailed by a network of male prostitutes in rome. now the vatican has come out very strongly saying that these reports are unverified, unverifiable, or completely false. now the worry is that somehow this report will affect the decision or the person who these popes elect. now we do know that there is pressure within the vatican to really clean up house, to sort of elect a new pope who will have the strength, the willpower, and the